At 6:30pm the night before, I took the ferry from Orient Point to New London, and then drove another two hours up to the Concord area, landing at around 10pm. It had rained quite a bit, and I had been monitoring the forecast pretty closely. It started to look more promising, then not so much, with the anticipated rainfall accumulation for the day expected to be somewhere between 0.75-1” total, but I was trying to stay optimistic and was fully committed.
I was only able to sleep for ~4 hours with enough time to check out, grab a coffee and donut, and arrive at the start point just before 4:30am. 13 or 14 other riders showed up, and then Jake spoke about the route, signed us in and sent us on our way promptly at 5am. It was a bit misty, but I was feeling relieved as it was just a drizzle as we all took off. That changed, and it continued to rain with varying intensity through the first half of the day.
About 40 miles in, I was soaked from head to toe. With the temperature somewhere in the low 40’s, my thin gloves and short bibs proved insufficient. I was starting to have some difficulty with shifting as my hands were quite cold and becoming numb. I tried using produce bags between two pairs of wool socks, but that made matters worse as the water just accumulated. It was around this point when the other riders all started to split further apart.
At around 42 miles in, there was a control at Tweedo’s , which I completely spaced out on and flew right by, missing the stop by ~2 miles. Realizing this I decided to turn around, and after doing some extra climbing, finally met Bill the volunteer who said he saw me cruise by and was curious if I’d return. I refilled my water, had him sign my card and chatted for a few minutes. He helped me open a pack of foot warmers which I had brought along but couldn’t manage to open due to cold wet hands, then I stuffed them in my shoes and kept moving.
The rain continued as I transitioned to a slightly more trafficked road. Eventually I wound up cruising behind another cyclist, Steve, while on a lengthy climb. He was taking a detour while on another group ride. We chatted a bit about where we lived, finding pleasure in riding soaking wet, and our favorite places to ride. That brief conversation was beneficial, as it had distracted me from focusing on how miserable I was starting to feel.
Eventually made it to the Mimi’s control, and touched base with Jake who informed me that Mimi’s was closed due to running out of water as the pumping station in town had lost power in the storm. The coffee and breakfast sandwich that was top of mind for the prior 10 miles would have to wait, instead I wolfed down some pop tarts, refilled my water bottles and pressed on.
Those foot warmers never kicked in, likely rendered useless immediately from all the water trapped in my shoes.
The rain continued, and it took a moment to find the pleasure in riding again as I was starting to get really cold after idling at Mimi’s for around 10 minutes, but eventually I was feeling motivated once again, especially as I hit the boundary for the Quabbin Reservoir. I had been out this way just once before, in April, three years ago to circumnavigate the reservoir, and was looking forward to being back.
At 88 miles in, there was a control at the Quabbin Enfield Overlook, and the rain seemed to have stopped so I was able to snap what turned out to be my first and last photos of the entire ride. Stepping up on the fence post and capturing as much of the reservoir and surrounding landscape as possible, pretty much emulating a photo I had taken the last time I was there.
At this point getting hungry and still hadn’t grabbed that coffee I was hoping to grab back at Tweedo’s, which I finally was able to remedy at the Dunkin’ in Palmer. Here I was also able to finally shed my rain jacket and start the process of drying out my inner layers. There was a steady breeze and by the time I reached the next control I was almost completely dry aside from my soggy socks and shoes. There was a nice long drawn out climb before landing at the following control where the road was pretty chewed up and some trucks were flying by. Near the top was a friendly walker who had also just made the same climb and we had a friendly exchange.
At 119 miles in was the next control in Holland by a ballfield. I had some pickles and a PBJ, and chatted with Jake and another rider for a bit. I was finally able to take off my completely drenched socks and put on a fresh pair I had brought along. The sky started to clear and the sun was shining, although quite windy.
The ride became significantly more enjoyable from there on in. It was pretty smooth sailing up to the next control, I had caught up with another rider, and tailed him for a bit, using him as a beacon as he was keeping a good pace so I just stayed put until we landed at the next control at around 150 miles in, which was a Gas Station control in Rutland. Uncertain if it was the correct one, but we both stepped off our bikes and introduced ourselves. I refilled my water, purchased some snacks and a pair of $1.99 brown work gloves as my hands still didn’t feel great. We both took off at the same time and I was feeling pretty energized, so I pushed it on the following few descents, gliding up the subsequent climbs as quickly as possible. We were on a much busier road for a bit before turning off and enjoying more backroads for much of the remainder of the ride. The last leg was really peaceful and mostly quiet, and with the sun shining bright I was feeling great. Was looking like I’d finish the ride with plenty of daylight remaining.
I finally arrived at the Residence Inn Concord and found the crew, who had set up a table with food and cold beverages. As Jake signed my card, I sat down and chilled out for 15 minutes and then started to determine the best course of action for traveling back home and finding something decent to eat. Ate some Mexican food and ended up having to drive around the Long Island Sound as the last ferry was cutting it to close.
All in all it was a blast. I ended up riding just under 192 miles and climbed 12,000+ feet, a bit further than anticipated because of missing Tweedo’s and a few pit stops along the way. I love exploring Massachusetts, and look forward to the next one.
Here is the route.
